you keep me aloft
by Snowsheba
Summary: and i can fly when you are near. - sixty colosseumshipping drabbles chronicling the plot of pokemon: colosseum


**Spoiler alert all up on this, yo. This is the game of Colosseum in 100-word sections.**

**I wrote this because I was feeling under the weather due to some sad family things, and it made me feel a little better because I was playing Colosseum a little bit ago and I dunno. Wes has been my favorite Pokemon characters since, well, ever, and I miss him.  
**

**And, after reading Zyler's unfortunately incomplete _Blackmail_, how could I ever turn my back on him and Rui and Espeon and Umbreon?**

* * *

**Rescue**

Some said that it was he who let the cat out of the bag. In reality, Umbreon had to bite the rope. Rui didn't seem to care either way.

He suppressed a groan when he learned that she was going to follow him around. She was a lovesick puppy, and it was embarrassing to look at, let alone know that he was the subject of her affection. He was an ex-criminal; the last thing he need was a naïve teenaged girl getting in his way.

In the end, though he didn't know why, he let her stay faithfully behind him.

**Mayor**

He was getting bad vibe from the portly, friendly man in front of him. Perhaps it was because just beforehand, he'd run into a stranger whose clothes and bloodshot eyes left much to be desired; then again, perhaps it was because of the way the mayor was eyeing the two of them. He'd always been good at reading people, and when Rui mentioned the unnatural and elusive Shadow Pokémon, Es Cade's reaction was more than a little suspicious.

He did not voice any of these concerns to her as the mayor promised that he would begin an investigation at once.

**Confrontation**

He knew that she'd been eyeing the contraption on his arm; if he hadn't known what it was, he would have seen it as a pretentious fashion statement himself. Running into his old teammates brought everything back into perspective, when one of them explained the device to a shocked Rui, as well as Wes's personal involvement pertaining to the device.

When they left, he hoped that she would be disgusted and leave him alone. Instead, she cheerily informed him that he was her knight in shining armor, and then told him to go look for Pokéballs.

_Women_, he thought irritably.

**Respect**

The Outskirt Stand was a place he had frequented, back in his Snagging days. From the way Rui spoke, he got the sense that those days were very far from over, as he reluctantly, mournfully forked over his hard-earned (read: stolen) cash over to the burly man behind the counter in exchange for the spheres that had once been his livelihood.

Rui told him that they would catch and 'fix' all of the Shadow Pokémon with their combined abilities. Wes's response was a very adamant _no_. Rui's strongly-worded answer changed his mind, and he cowered under her fierce blue gaze.

**Pull**

Returning to Phenac City showed him that there was more to his newfound companion than what met the eye. When it came down to it, in the Mayor's house while battling Miror B.'s peons, she was the one practically screaming in his ear to Snag Trudley's Shadow Makuhita.

He listened, mostly because he was well-aware that she would chew him out if he failed, and her smile upon his success could've lit up the world.

Some part of him wished to see it again, later on as he Snagged the Quilava from his opponent; fortunately, said part was then rewarded.

**Realization**

As Rui directed the motorcycle to Pyrite Town, he was again struck with the fact that she was far from the innocent, childish girl he'd believed her to be. She was leading him straight into the heart of the place where she'd been kidnapped, with nary a concern that it might happen again. _All for some Pokémon she doesn't even know_, he thought.

He wondered what she had been doing wandering around Orre by herself, and why she had gone to a place as infamous – and notoriously dangerous – as Pyrite.

He nearly ran them into a cactus in his inattention.

**Circle**

When she led him to Pyrite Square, she commented that she had always thought it odd that the place was called the town's square when the worn, yellow design painted onto the ground was clearly circular in nature. In return, he gave her an odd look and asked her why everyone in Orre went by short and unusual monikers – Pike, for instance, or Nortz.

Neither of them had a legitimate answer for the other.

When she laughed, he was reminded of bells, and the sound looped in his mind for the rest of the day and long into the night.

**Dance**

Not for the last time, he wondered how exactly he had gotten roped into this as Miror B.'s infectious music blared through the speakers beside him and he skillfully orchestrated the peculiar man's defeat. The Shadow Pokémon hadn't been so cooperative with him at first, but he got the sense that he had won their respect as they gracefully carried out his commands.

Wes turned his head halfway through the battle to find Rui dancing to the music – nothing too dramatic or noticeable, but dancing all the same. He found it oddly fitting, though he did not remark upon it.

**Desert**

They didn't talk much when they were on his motorcycle. The close call with the cactus earlier had taught Rui not to distract her driver, and so the two of them spent plenty of time watching the sands _whish_ by and huge rock formations loom in and out of their vision. Rui tapped his calf as he spotted a speck in the distance, and he gave her a brief nod as he steered his motorcycle towards it.

The sun blared unforgivingly upon him, yet her touch sent shivers down his spine, for he had never had a human friend before.

**Faint**

Mt. Battle wasn't a place that Wes had ever gone to, as Team Snagen considered the Pokémon there to be too weak for them to be of any value. He went in with this mindset, and then considered the idea that maybe the reason he won so many battles was because he had been battling against idiots.

Rui had complete faith in him, but this did little to help his cantankerous mood following the fainting of his beloved Espeon. The Pokémon was healed after the battle, but it really did hurt to see his longtime companion fall before his eyes.

**Identical**

He could've told anyone that Team Snagem – and by extension, Cipher – didn't fight honorably. Thus he wasn't surprised by the large, muscular man bearing down on Vander, even as aforementioned leader of Area 1 was nearly pushed off the edge of the platform where they stood. Rui let out a little shriek at the sight.

Though Wes was intimidated by the sheer bulk of Dakim, standing across from him, it was just another battle – it felt no different than if he were fighting a stranger on the street, and sense of calm befell him as he sent his Pokémon out.

**Focus**

He thought he'd known fear, until he stood face-to-face with the largest, fiercest creature he'd ever come across. Rui was shouting that Entei was a Shadow Pokémon, that he had to catch it, but his limbs had gone numb and his golden eyes were wide.

She told him so many things to get him to move, to Snag, but it wasn't until she hollered that he was the strongest person she knew that he realized that _it was just another battle_.

He grinned, eyes gleaming with something fiery, and it was then that the fight tilted in his favor.

**Skip**

They walked out of the place with Entei's Pokéball in his hand, and though he was celebrating inside, his face remained impassive as Rui squealed about his victory.

He used to think that her voice – high-pitched, slightly nasally, just a tinge of some kind of accent – was annoying, piercing his eardrums like some kind of flaming blade. Now, he merely watched her skip ahead to his motorcycle and tried to recall when he had decided that she was not bad company.

He wondered if letting her out of that bag wasn't in fact a mistake but a blessing in disguise.

**Stars**

Sometimes they had to stop in the desert for stretch or bathroom breaks and the like. Rui didn't seem to understand that it got very cold in the desert at night, however, and though she tried her best to delay so they might be out when the sun set, he was very firm about being somewhere warm when the sun set.

One day, however, he decided to humor her, though he wasn't sure why.

He knew constellations, and he was able to point them out to her when the desert cold settled in and the sky cleared of all clouds.

**Green**

He had never been to Agate Village, either, and it took him a full five minutes for him to get moving upon arriving. Rui found his profound shock amusing, but he couldn't care less: he had never seen so much green and water in one place in his life.

He watched with a no small sense of awe as Rui plucked a blue flower from the ground and situated it in her hair – when was the last time he had seen a flower grow without someone tending to it? – and felt a soft smile curl the ends of his lips.

'**Fix'**

Several Cipher peon battles later, he was finally able to help his Shadow Pokémon regain their original dispositions, and Rui's smile was so infectious he couldn't help but laugh in some kind of pure joy when the Makuhita he had captured so long ago tackled him in a hug.

All of the Shadow Pokémon were similarly healed that day thanks to Celebi's life-giving powers, and as he left the humming standing stone behind him, he got the sense that something broken in him – perhaps his undying pessimism, his harsh demeanor, his previously cold, cruel tactics – had been fixed as well.

**Age**

He was only seventeen, but the elders in the Village were certain that he would be welcomed there in his old age. His response was an ambiguous _if I survive that long_. Rui thought he was kidding, but he knew perfectly well that he was not. He had always been the wildcard in Gonzap's deck, and he knew himself well enough to know that he was unpredictable, unattached, wild and free.

He could see himself high in Cipher, he could see himself standing tall against them. It was all the same to him; after all, a battle was a battle.

**Down**

He'd been to the Under more than once – any native from Orre knew that it existed, though they didn't speak of it to outsiders – but Rui had had no idea the place had existed. She was suitably surprised when they ended up there.

He didn't bother showing her around (the less attention they received, the better). She didn't seem keen in any case, and at any given point he could count on her fingers gripping the back of his coat. It was reassuring not just for her but for him as well: he would notice right away if she disappeared.

**Kids**

The Kid Network was more than a little astonishing. Any talent in Orre, once they reached an age where they could understand their future, would leave for greener pastures, that is, other regions. Wes had a hard time believing kids of this caliber had willingly chosen to remain not only in the infamous Desert Region but deep down in the Under, as well.

When he voiced this thought to Rui, she asked him why he himself hadn't left the region, since, from what she had seen, he was a very skilled and practiced trainer.

He did not have an answer.

**Planet**

He was reminded of the night spent stargazing with Rui when he heard Lady Venus's name – that planet in particular was one of the brightest spots in the sky – and even as the battle begun, the peacefulness that had settled upon him that night in the desert returned to him, a soft, heavy blanket that kept his head focused and his eyes clear.

He was momentarily distracted by Rui as she ran by, her hands waving wildly as she kept one of Venus's cronies away from him, and then hissed in annoyance when his opponent used Attract on his Umbreon.

**Elegance**

Suicune was by far the most beautiful Pokémon he had ever seen, and for the first time upon viewing a Shadow Pokémon, he felt a deep sorrow that such an elegant Pokémon had been captured, chained and used. He knew without Rui telling him that leaving it in the incapable hands of Venus would be more than unpleasant; rather, it would be absolutely unacceptable.

He was quick and efficient to dispatch the rest of Venus's Pokémon before concentrating solely on the legendary, and when the Pokéball finally did its work, he felt a cool trickle of relief down his spine.

**Escape**

He had been very fit for as long as he could remember – Snagging was a dangerous business, considering how people did not like having their Pokémon stolen – and so running after Lady Venus as she fled was not difficult for him.

He had to slow to a jog for Rui, however, and he watched the girl as she huffed behind him, feeling something slightly warm yet cold in his chest. It was a bit of a surprise; as far as girls went, Wes had had plenty chase after him and had never been even slightly interested.

Until now, it seemed.

**Subway**

The more he thought about it, the more he came to realize that he really did have a silly little crush on the annoying, obtuse, naïve girl. It was rather ridiculous, at least for him, and he let out a little puff of laughter at the thought of it as he explored the Subway train Lady Venus had been on.

His amusement died an abrupt death when he saw the cages with chains, and Rui's sharp inhalation was enough to remind him that his work wasn't done. He took off at a sprint, and he could hear her behind him.

**Lab**

The subway led to some sort of lab, according to the two Cipher peons, and he had to wonder how far the underground train had gone. He estimated that considering how long they'd been on said train, they had traveled – he might guess about halfway across Orre, however ludicrous it sounded.

An explosion rocked the world nearby, and upon cautiously brushing past the broken door, he found the floor completely blown through – the entrance to the lab was effectively sealed. Rui let out a soft giggle at his frustrated groan, but he couldn't find it in him to be annoyed.

**Up**

The elevator ride up was made in silence. They were both tired and perhaps a little cranky, and they both just wanted some (well-earned for him, in his opinion) sleep. He flicked his reflective sunglasses onto his face when they emerged to the surface, and Rui commented that she should have brought a pair as she shielded her eyes with her hand.

Without a thought, in a small symbol of solidarity, he pushed the lenses back into his sandy hair, giving her an unreadable look when she made a questioning noise.

If he was being honest, he wasn't sure, either.

**Fence**

He wondered what would happen if he touched the laser fence surrounding the lab, and decided he would rather not know as he slid the stolen cardkey into the slot, granting the two of them access.

The blue matched her eyes, he realized dimly, and then took a good, long look at that thought and wondered what had happened to him. He had always kept his thoughts and feelings carefully guarded, locked into some sort of box; but as he met Rui's eyes, an unspoken conversation happening between them, he began to appreciate how she had gotten herself the key.

**Alarm**

The alarm wasn't overly concerning, though the brief and wild moment of panic upon hearing its tune nearly sent him spiraling into a panic attack. In the end it more annoying than anything; after a while, all he could hear in his ears was its blaring, rhythmic pulsing.

He still managed to be startled with Rui's hand landed lightly on his shoulder, his nerves already at their wit's end, and then she said, "I'm here."

It was dumb and he felt like he was thirteen years old, but it helped, and he gave her a small smile that she returned.

**Chess**

There was a lingering fear in the dark recesses of his mind that he would never be more than a pawn in another person's game, and he could feel this fear more prominently as he faced Ein and his patronizing words (and awful haircut).

He could feel Rui's warmth behind him as he sent out his trusted friends, Espeon and Umbreon, and for the first time, he took some comfort in the fact. He had never thought he could rise as far as he did, but since he had, he would continue pushing forward – especially when Rui believed in him.

**Incredulity**

First Entei, then Suicune, and now Raikou – he had known that his former boss, Gonzap, had been dealing with some shady people, but now Wes was beginning to think that he was more than a little outclassed.

Unlike his compatriots, Ein was an intelligent fighter and the new Shadow Pokémon posed a unique challenge to Wes's strategic fighting style. Fortunately, he was used to changing the plan on the fly, and soon enough Wes had both defeated Ein's remaining Pokémon and Snagged the Raikou from under his nose.

Rui let out a cheer and he felt warm at the sound.

**Sleep**

He hadn't had nightmares for a very long time, but he suspected that the stress of constant travel, battling and capture had brought on his awakening in cold sweat. He could not remember what he dreamt of, but he didn't dare roll over and fall asleep again. The fear lay coiled within him, icy and tight.

He stood on the balcony of the hotel room overlooking the Under – hardly abandoned though it was far into night – and then found a sleepy presence at his shoulder when Rui took to his side.

He was surprisingly comforted when she leaned against him.

**Uncertainty**

He spent the time driving to the new Colosseum thinking about his relationship to Rui.

At this point in the game, he knew without thinking that he would rather die than see her hurt – a strange turn of events, considering how he had first thought of her – and that she was by far the most important person into his life. He did not know what he was to her.

Rui's hand absently traced the lean muscles in his calf, and he decided that they were both dancing around a topic neither of them knew how to even begin to address.

**Tall**

"I feel like it's going to fall on us," Rui said of the new tower when they stepped off the motorcycle.

The building seemed to go up forever, spearing the sky with its gleaming tip. He could feel the unease settling into his bones, and took a couple of deep breaths before he strode forward, knowing Rui would be close behind, bracing his shoulders back as he forced his body to stand tall, to stand proud.

"We'll make it fall on them," he told her, and he knew that the determined gleam in her eyes was reflected in his own.

**Work**

Miror B. was no match for him. Neither was Dakim, or Lady Venus, or Ein. He had learned their battle styles, and he remembered where to strike so it hurt. Without their Shadow Pokémon, he couldn't tell the difference between them and their Cipher peons, and his open disdain as such, along with their defeats, aggravated the admins to no end.

Complacency was dangerous – he knew this firsthand – but after a while, Rui reminded him that he was not infallible when he tripped down a set of stairs in exhaustion. Four tough battles in a row had taken its toll.

**Rest**

He spent a few hours sitting quietly on the floor, his Pokémon snoozing in a loose ring around him while Rui dozed against him. Her hair tickled his cheek, but he was comfortable with her solid, warm presence next to him by now and did nothing to bat it away.

His Espeon gave him a sleepy mewl, its head resting on his lap, and he scratched it behind the ears while the Furret he'd Snagged from Cail stretched the entire length of its long, lithe body. It was relaxing to watch them unwind, and he felt pleasantly warm and calm.

**Pressure**

He didn't realize he had fallen asleep until he woke up with a crushing weight on his shoulders.

He didn't panic, though it was incredibly uncomfortable, and turned his head to find his gentle Typhlosion shaking him softly from behind. He looked around and saw that he had somehow fallen forward and gone across the small circular room, and that every Pokémon was giving him identical looks of confusion.

He remembered that his dream was not pleasant, and shuddered. He had never seen himself as a hero, and now he was here to fight for the region as a whole.

**Comfort **

He didn't know what possessed him to wrap his arms around himself and sit back down on the floor, tucking his head between his knees. Then he remembered that when he was a young orphan on the streets, he took this position when he was afraid while his two Eevees stood protectively beside him. Nevertheless, he did not feel much better as he held still.

Something warm wrapped around him and then Rui pressed herself against him, leaning until she could whisper into his ear, "You're okay, Wes. It's going to be fine."

He remembered that he wasn't alone anymore.

**Power**

He had forgotten how much he hated Gonzap, right up until he laid eyes on him again and all of his atrocities – his yelling, his beatings, his decision to turn Espeon and Umbreon into Shadow Pokémon – returned in a rush. Team Snagem's leader shouted bloody murder at him, and Wes screamed it right back, fury making him coldly precise as he destroyed Gonzap's Pokémon with his own.

When Rui shouted at him to calm down, he found himself immediately doing so, and at the end of the battle, she was the one who steadied him when he swayed with exhaustion.

**Tired**

Before they went up to the final stage – the top of the tower – she insisted that he get some sleep. He knew she was right, but they were so close that he argued that they should finish things as soon as possible.

She sat down on one end of the couch and then made him lie down with his head on her lap. He stared up at her, eyebrow raised, as she glared down at him, daring him to try and get up, and in the end he shrugged, closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep.

His dreams were calm.

**Eyes**

He awoke calmly, with his eyes closed, to find someone gently brushing his hair.

He knew it was Rui, of course. His immediate reaction was not to reach up and bat her hand away; instead, it was to turn his head minutely so her fingers would comb through a different section of his hair. It worked, and he could hear her huff of laughter upon seeing his small smile.

He knew it was just the calm before the storm, but when he opened his eyes and gazed into Rui's bright blue ones, he knew he didn't want it to end.

**Elevator**

He did not feel entirely rested when they finally went up to the elevator that would take them to the stage, and he knew Rui could tell when they got in and he leaned against the way, sliding down until he sat on the posh, tiled floor.

After a few moments of standing above him, Rui offered her hand to him, to help him to his feet. He stared at it, admiring the lean fingers, the smooth skin that belied the callouses on her palm, and then reached up and took it.

He didn't let go when he was standing.

**Sway**

Defeating the trainers was easy enough; rather, it was trying to catch the one Shadow Pokémon that expended most of his energy. By the fourth trainer he could feel himself beginning to stagger, and when they were defeated Rui went up and put both hands on his shoulders while he hissed in irritation. Fatigue was something he was used to; fatigue over several weeks was not.

Nascour was not intimidating in Wes's current state, and he quietly asked Rui to continue to stand beside him while the man continued to talk. He would need all the help he could get.

**Accurate**

He thought he was done when he defeated Nascour, and then he felt some twisted sense of satisfaction upon seeing that Es Cade was not, in fact, a Good Guy. He'd been right about the man.

Even though he was working through a fog, Wes continued to command his Pokémon with a grace and skill born from a entire lifetime of hardships. It wasn't a surprise when he defeated all of the portly man's Pokémon; it was, however, when his Shadow Tyranitar landed a punch on him. In his exhaustion, he'd failed to remember that Shadow Pokémon sometimes attacked people.

**Pain**

The blow was enough to make several ribs crack ominously, and he tried not to notice that he was coughing up blood as he threw a Pokéball at the thing. Rui was vibrating with worry behind him, her hands trembling on his shoulders, but she kept quiet because she knew that for the moment, the fight wasn't over and her guard needed to be up.

He was kneeling on the ground when the Pokéball successfully Snagged it, and the huge crowd was deadly silent as he leaned forward on his hands and knees and hacked up something dark and red.

**Stand**

Rui had to help him to his feet, and his Espeon and Umbreon nudged his legs as he slowly worked up the strength to stand.

When he did, his chest burning intensely, a line of blood coming from the corner of his mouth, hand pressing against his stomach, the crowd began to boo and heckle and scream. He did not pay attention, his golden eyes burning holes into the two men across from him, the start of it all.

"Thank you," he told them, because if they hadn't, he never would have met the red-haired girl standing next to him.

**Fire**

Of course they tried to escape. He was in no position to try and stop them, and Rui was not willing to leave his side, and so they stood together, watching as the helicopter descended from the sky.

He wasn't quite sure what happened, but a rainbow of colors appeared as a burst of flames sent the helicopter careening into the side of the stadium, crashing in a fierce ball of fire. Wes had never seen a Ho-oh close up, and he didn't notice that his jaw hung open until Rui reached over and tapped the underside of his chin.

**Heal**

Sherles had him transported to Phenac, where he was told he had five broken ribs and some minor internal injuries. Apparently he hadn't been eating enough fatty foods, which meant that there wasn't enough 'yellow fat' to protect his internal organs. He had no idea what they meant by that, but he nodded along while Rui promised to get him to eat more once he was out.

He wished healing was an instantaneous as it was for Pokémon, when he wasn't dispatched until small number of weeks later. Rui visited every day, though, and the rest was more than heavenly.

**Aftermath**

He didn't know what to do with himself now that it was all over.

He and Rui both knew that he would have to continue purifying the Shadow Pokémon – that was the least he owed to them – but beyond that, he had no further obligations. No one telling him what to do, not end-all mission to complete… just a life to live. A life without purpose.

Rui snorted when he mentioned it to her, and told him that if he didn't have a purpose, then he needed to find one.

He looked at her, and then realized that he did.

**Definition**

They didn't put a label on their relationship for a long time.

He was a wanderer by nature, and Rui settled down in Phenac – so they worked out a system, with him visiting every now and then while she landed herself a job at the Pre-Gym. It wasn't until he showed up at her house one day and found his Espeon and Umbreon already there that he realized he wanted to do something about it.

He went up to her and hugged her, surprising her into stillness, and then he tilted her chin up, met her eyes, and kissed her.

**Almost**

He couldn't shake the feeling that this almost-happy stage of his life wouldn't last.

It hardly mattered that he still maintained the same schedule, coming and going whenever he wanted and staying at Rui's whenever he wandered over to Phenac. It hardly mattered that when he was with Rui he felt the most calm and free, that she brought out the best in him and made him face his worst. What mattered to him was the unshakeable fear that something would take it all away from him.

Because for his entire life, no human had served as a solid foundation.

**Repeat**

When he got a call from Bitt about something on television, he didn't spare it much thought – only to have something akin to a heart attack when he saw himself on the screen. The blow was lessened by the appearance of a Togetic, which by far was the most ridiculous Pokémon anyone could have possibly used to beat people up.

He emailed Rui immediately, asking her if she'd seen the broadcast. She had, and she told him immediately thereafter that she knew that it couldn't have been him.

When he asked how, her answer was a simple _I trust you_.

**Copy**

Running into himself at Phenac City was by far the most surreal and bizarre experience of his life.

He was by himself when he confronted the other him, noting coolly that the runner Dash's Castform struggled to straighten itself on the ground, and then he sent out his trusted Espeon and Umbreon to deal with his clone. They were the only two he'd kept following the purification of the Shadow Pokémon, and they efficiently knocked out each Pokémon until only the Togetic was left.

He didn't know how he knew it was a Shadow Pokémon, but he Snagged it anyway.

**Amusement**

The entire battle had been caught on television, and thus he was off the hook. Returning to Rui's abode – to once again find that his Pokémon had beaten him there – resulted in an angry _these people are idiots, of course it wasn't you, I mean come _on_ how dumb can you get? _She promptly squealed aloud when she saw the Togetic, and then asserted his claim that it was indeed Shadow as he returned it to its Pokéball and pocketed it.

He was sure the amusement shone in his eyes, and then she was kissing him and nothing else mattered.

**Yours**

He wasn't any connoisseur of romance by any means, and never claimed as such, but if there was one thing he did know how to do, it was how to kiss somebody.

He always went slow with her, though, for her sake – indeed, the first time he'd kissed her, it'd just been a light pressure on her lips. As time went on, however, he found that making out with her was something he could see himself doing often enough, much to his personal amusement.

He mouthed _I love you_ against her lips, once, and received a soft laugh in response.

**Certainty**

He had been gone for a few weeks due to some complications he'd run into down in the Deep, and when he finally made the loop back to Phenac late evening, he was looking forward to a day of rest with his favorite person in the world. Rui was cuddling his two Pokémon when he quietly let himself in, and when she looked up, she gave him a small smile that faded a few moments later.

"Did you mean it?" she asked, and when he raised an eyebrow, she formed a heart with her hands.

He nodded, and she smiled.

**Mine**

"I don't deserve you," she told him one day when she was curled against him on her couch.

"No, you don't," he agreed, and when she gave him an affronted look he said more quietly, "You deserve someone much better."

The look she gave him was withering, but it had little effect. He knew she was about to say something equally dry, but then she closed her mouth when it was halfway open.

"I love you," she told him instead.

He froze for just a moment, and then he laughed and leaned forward so his forehead rested against her hair.

**Ghosts**

But the feeling that something would ruin everything for him continued to haunt him.

Never mind that he had defeated Cipher's Admins down in the Deep, so systematically it could have been clockwork. Never mind that he had defeated his own boss, Gonzap, in the very place that the man had formerly ruled. The fact remained that both Cipher and Snagem were still out there, and so he would never be completely safe.

More importantly, Rui would never be completely safe, because if both crime rings knew one thing, it was that she was one of his only weak points.

**Continue**

They never said 'love' to each other anymore than that one time. They both knew it was unnecessary, because the two of them just _were_. It was almost, he told her, a universal constant. She laughed, and then she hugged him tight and didn't let go for a very long time.

He told her about his fear because he trusted her and he knew she wouldn't laugh. Her answer was straightforward: _I'll wait_.

"I don't deserve you," he told her, and she frowned and smacked his shoulder. "Really. I don't."

"You're a moron," she answered.

He supposed she was right.

**Decision**

He normally stayed at her house for a couple of days, maybe three, and then he left for five or six before coming back to continue the cycle.

When he was still around on the fourth day, she knew something was up. When he left on the fifth day and then returned on the seventh, she asked _why_, and he said with brutal honesty, "I want to be with you."

"Are you sure?" she asked, and he impulsively moved and kissed her, because she was still looking out for him even when he had done so pathetically little in return.

**Peace**

For the time being, he made sure to savor what he had.

They made it work, even if he was prone to long walks at night or sometimes disappearing during the day, even when she stayed overtime or went about exploring the city. They found time for each other and that was all they needed, because they knew it wouldn't last. Both of them agreed that the peace was superficial, that Cipher and/or Snagem would strike at the two of them again.

But at least for the moment, no one tried to force them apart, and so they stayed together.

**Musing**

"We could always leave."

She gave him a look that said _I can't tell if you're being serious_, and he repeated, "We could."

"This is my home now, and it's always been yours," she answered.

"I can adapt."

"No, Wes. I don't think you can."

He paused, thought about it. He was saddled with a plethora of mental problems and disorders, of course, but he was fairly confident that with her, he could overcome them. But, he supposed, better safe than sorry.

He nodded. "I trust you," he told her, and she leaned up to brush her lips against his.

* * *

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